My core gut told me no but at the same time, when I looked at Shadow, I saw a tear sneak from the corner of her left eye and cut a wet trail down her fur.
CHAPTER 15
My second visit of the day brought me to someone else who was restrained. Only, the witch was restrained with two iron chains around every limb. Not that I expected her to have abnormal strength, but it seemed only prudent to take more precautions around her.
Of course, the time would soon come when I needed to take no care at all. After I got her to fix whatever she’d done with Shadow, I could have the evil little witch killed, and then dissolve her in the alchemy chamber and feed her essence to my dungeon mates, giving them part of her powers. Before that, though, I needed her to cooperate.
She stared at me groggily, saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth.
“This really isn’t that kind of dungeon, you know,” I said. “Chaining up prisoners and the like. I tend to just kill heroes, dissolve their bodies, and be done with it. There’s no need for interrogations or any of this unpleasantness.”
“Unpleasantness?” she said, forcing a smile. “I was going to ask how much you charge for your hospitality. I feel super rude staying here for free.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “Perhaps you could pay for your first night by reversing whatever you did to my kobold.”
“To my kobold?”
“My kobold.”
“Come on, Mr. Core, let’s not be so childish.”
I, a dungeon core in his second life, was being talked down to by a teenage girl, now. Demons below, how much I would love to kill this girl! Alas, some pleasures had to be resisted.
I tried a different tack. “I suppose if you aren’t capable of reversing the spell, then it is unfair of me to ask it. We all have our limitations. Being a mage is tough, tough work, I hear, and it takes a lot of practice. You will get there, little wretch. Don’t be upset with yourself in the meantime.”
It was her turn to laugh now. “Wow, you cores are manipulative. I mean, I don’t know much about dungeons or the cores that live in them. But I know that you’re really mean. And rude. You’re mean and rude blocks of rock. Even so, I didn’t think you’d try to play mind tricks with me. Silly core, do you really think it’s a good use of your time to play mind tricks with me, of all people? Think about it!”
“Yes, it would stand to reason that someone who plays with minds is adept at guarding her own.”
“And don’t you forget it!”
“I suppose there’s nothing I can do, then. I’ll have to let you go.”
“Great…wait! Getting sneaky on me again, are you?”
“Fine, I think we’ve established that there’s no point messing around. I’ll just be blunt. Have you ever heard of a narkleer?”
She bit her lip as she thought about it. “A type of monkey? Like a macaque?”
“Nothing so nice. They were created centuries ago. Nobody truly knows why, and anyone who is unfortunate enough to meet one can’t imagine a single reason for such an abomination to exist. You might like them, though. They can use telekinesis to disembowel a person. After eating said bowels and guts, the waste is merged with a skin-like flap on their back that looks rather like a cape.”
“Sounds lovely. Can I meet yours and give it a nice scratch behind the ears?”
“You’re brave, I’ll give you that. Kainhelm?”
A big, skeletal, gangly leg took an oversized stride into the chamber, followed by the other leg, followed by the rest of Kainhelm’s hideous frame. He was covered in his red paste since I didn’t want his death energy to kill the girl. His skin cape flapped behind him.
“This is the plague rat little strumpet, is it? She stinks. I can smell her flesh,” he said.
“Hey! You try living with a bunch of pirates. See how much chance to get to have a bath!”
I couldn’t believe it.
In a dungeon full of monstrosities that would make most sane people flee screaming, Kainhelm sat at the very top, wedged in his throne as the king of the hideous. He was sneering, evil, disgusting being – and that was coming from someone who liked him.
And yet, this girl wasn’t scared. Not even in the slightest. Even if she logically had reasoned that I couldn’t afford to hurt her yet, her body should have shown an instinctual fear response at the sight of him.
There was something wrong with this horror of a girl. She wasn’t right in the head. Still, I had to persist. I would not let it be said that I was a quitter.
“I’ll leave you and Kainhelm alone for a while,” I said.
She scrunched her face at Kainhelm.
“Now who’s trying tricks?” I said. “You are still mildly sedated. Just the right amount. Enough to keep you awake but to dampen your mind tricks.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Kainhelm,” I said, “You have my full permission to kill her in the most horrific way possible.”
I floated out of the chamber now and I waited, out of view.
“Right, you poxing trollop,” growled the monster. “Old Kainhelm will make you suffer. He will…”
Damn it, I wasn’t hearing screams or begs for mercy even now! This just wasn’t working.
I floated back in, incensed that she had called my bluff, and resolving to never, ever play cards with her. “Okay, Kainhelm. You tried your best. You can leave.”
Kainhelm left, muttering to himself. Anna laughed. “That’s the best you have? I’ve seen scarier sheep. You’ll have to try harder, Mr. Core.”
Damn it. This girl wasn’t scared of the dungeon and didn’t even blink at the idea of being tortured by Kainhelm. How in all hells was I supposed to get through to her? I mean, I supposed we could make a deal, but I didn’t relish having to stoop to negotiating with my prisoners. Even if I did, what would she want? What did this girl value?
All I knew was that she had some strange mind powers and that she and her friend had traveled with the pirates, for whatever reason.
Ah, wait a second…Had I just discovered a weakness? She and her friend had traveled with the pirates…
“I suppose that I should thank you,” I said. “Kainhelm was hard-pressed for time today, with having to torture you first, and then your friend. Knowing there’s no point torturing you, he can spend double the time on freckle face.”
Her granite expression cracked. She scrunched her nose differently this time. Not to use her powers but in an uncontrollable reflex of fear. She recovered herself a second later.
“Torture him all you want,” she said. “Just close the door. His voice can be really annoying.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.”
I floated toward the door.
“Wait!” she said. “Ugh. Fine. Don’t hurt Utta, you floating dungball. He’s not like me. He couldn’t even sleep on the ground when we were camping with the pirates. I had to give him my blanket.”
“Ah, you’re feeling accommodating now are you, you little rat?”
“You block of hardened cheese.”
“You insipid, rude, impertinent dunce...”
“What do you want from me, core?”
“Fine. Let’s get to the point. The average person is born with ten fingers, ten toes, two legs, two arms, two eyes, two ears. A nose. A mouth.”
“I didn’t know you had studied medicine, Mr. Core.”
“As I said – that’s the average person. Right now, let’s assume that your friend Utta has none of those things. That his ears, eyes, fingers all belong to Kainhelm. For every question you answer to my satisfaction, for everything you do when I ask you to, your friend will earn back one of his precious body parts.”
“You know, if this was a fair fight, Utta and I would smash you to little pieces. And then we’d sell you as gravel to someone building a stable, and then we’d laugh when horses and donkeys crap all over you.”
“You’re a delightful girl. Let’s begin, then. First, for the grand prize of a whole hand
for your freckled friend…reverse what you did to my kobold.”
“My kobold, I think you mean.”
“Speak carefully, Anna. Your friend might find it hard to kiss your arse when Kainhelm eats his lips.”
“You revolting core! Fine. Your kobold. You will have to bring her to me and let me use my powers.”
“Fine. We’ll make arrangements later. Now, I have some things I want to ask you.”
To give the girl some credit, she spoke thoroughly and clearly. She answered my questions and gave whatever information I asked for and managed to keep her insults and complaints to a minimum. I supposed that the wellbeing of her friend was enough to make her behave.
“So you’re the Chosen One, eh?” I said.
“A Chosen One. Utta is too.”
“Ah, yes. Lots of you get chosen, don’t you?”
“We’re still special though.”
“Yes,” I said. “I’m sure you are. I’m sure that there aren’t hundreds of mages knocking on doors in little backwater villages, telling their parents that their children are Chosen Ones. You really are special. It isn’t as if there is a whole school established to train the likes of you.”
“It’s still a destiny. What are you, anyway? Just a lump of soulless rock.”
“Whereas your soul glows like a cozy fire, doesn’t it? Tell me, Anna, did you ever miss your mother when you left her behind? Do you care about your family? Or do they barely enter your mind at all?”
“You don’t know me.”
“I think I do, actually. You’re a lot like me, little girl.”
“You’re like a little girl?”
“Well…that’s not what I…”
“Keep mentioning my height all you want,” she said, “If that makes you feel tough. But just remember that this little girl is dangerous enough to have her own prison in your dungeon. Perhaps we’re similar. I have better hair, since you have none at all, and I’d bet all the gold in Xynnar my singing voice beats yours. But Utta told me that cores are people brought back from death, and since you were dead at the time, I don’t suppose they asked you if you wanted to come back. They didn’t say, ‘Hey Mr. Dead Man, do you want to be resurrected and turned into a lump of stone?’ I wasn’t asked if I wanted to be a Chosen One, either. I was born that way and then taken to the school without hardly a question or nothing. So I suppose we’re a little the same. There, Mr. Core. We know a little too much about each other, don’t we?”
The girl was too insightful for her own good. Forget her stupid Chosen One powers – her words were dangerous enough on their own.
“Tell me about this prophecy. The tablet. You’re supposed to destroy a dungeon core, yes? That’s your ‘Chosen One’ prophecy? That’s your life’s work?”
I wouldn’t pretend that the idea of being the subject of a Chosen One’s prophesy didn’t boost my ego a little. It was hard to not like the idea of being part of a Chosen One’s ultimate destiny.
“Not my life’s work, stupid. A prophecy is just a way of marking our graduation from school. It’s supposed to be easy, not a bloody life’s work!”
I was a little insulted, to be sure. “Fine. But from what you have told me, the wording on your prophecy was to destroy a dungeon core. Not Beno the dungeon core.”
“So?”
“It occurs to me that there are other dungeon cores in Xynnar.”
“There’s only one floating right in front of me, and I’d love to smash him to pieces, prophesy or not.”
“I might have a use for you and your abilities, Anna. We could come to an arrangement without you neglecting your silly prophesy. There is bound to be a core out there, one who doesn’t happen to be me, who deserves to be destroyed. We can be quite a loathsome bunch.”
“Hmph. You might have a use for my powers, core? I’m not yours to use. If my powers were a sword, I’d shove it up your arse.”
“Why do you even want to complete the prophecy, anyway? From what you have told me, you were the star student in the Chosen One school. Your instructors loved you. Boring. You’ve left the school and you are growing your powers, so what does it matter to you what was written on a stone tablet you found in some stupid cave?”
“Because everyone gets their tablet. And I didn’t get…oh, forget it, core. Listen. Perhaps you’re right. We can be friends. Or at least, you can let me go, and I can use my powers for whatever core stuff you need them for.”
For the tiniest thread of a second, I believed her, and I thought I had just cracked her resistance and earned a valuable asset for my dungeon.
But then I looked into the girl’s eyes and just like before, I saw nothing staring back. The girl was soulless. As a being devoid of a soul, I knew what that looked like. She seemed to have few emotions except for those concerning her friend. Words and promises would mean absolutely nothing to her.
No, it was clear that not even the most fragile alliance could be made with her, because I could trust her even less than I could trust a mercenary like Eric the barbarian. At least Eric followed gold. It was a pity because her powers were immense, but I would never be able to trust her.
Damn it. I would have to be cautious about this. Forget about the potential rewards her powers could bring and focus on dungeon safety.
Or did I? Maybe there was another way to use her powers. Of course there was!
“Have you ever heard of alchemy, Anna?”
“Of course I have, you moron.”
I laughed. “Fine. What about a dungeon alchemy chamber? It’s where we dissolve the corpses of heroes. The chamber devours their flesh and blood and strips their bodies back to their essence. To essence dust, in fact, which is the sum of their powers. When my creatures ingest it, they earn a modicum of the dead hero’s abilities.”
“What are you saying?”
“That on reflection, your corpse is worth more to me than your cooperation.”
She struggled against her chains. “What?”
“Ah. I have finally got your attention. I have found a much better use for you and your friend. And to think, if you’d just agreed to a genuine alliance, instead of lying, you might have robbed me of this inspiration.”
“I was being genuine. I said we could work together. I wasn’t plotting nothing! I don’t even know what a plot is! I don’t know how to make one!”
“Save it, you whiny-voiced wretch.”
I floated toward the door, only to get a shock when I saw a man standing there, staring at me.
A bald man wearing a robe that once flowed to the ground but was now cut at the waist, and desert-colored trousers that he’d tucked into dust-stained boots.
“Hello, Beno,” he said.
“Overseer Bolton.”
“It’s been a while, no?”
CHAPTER 16
As we made our way to the meeting chambers, Overseer Bolton stopped and chatted with every single kobold and monster he passed, and I found myself getting more and more annoyed with how much Wylie and everyone loved him.
Though it frustrated me, I didn’t exactly blame them, and I understood why they liked him so much. To the little creatures, Bolton was warmth personified. Always ready for a chat, always asking what they were working on and giving them pointers. As much as I hated to compare him to a father, the comparison was apt. He was like a grandfather doting on grandchildren, yet forever disappointed in me, his metaphorical son.
Maybe I needed to stop getting annoyed. The fact was that Bolton was a kindly man. Severe in his duties, yet not unfair in his methods. Besides, he had been a great mentor to me in the Dungeon Core Academy. Seeing him now, I felt a flicker of remorse about our relationship souring.
Maybe it was me. Maybe I needed to be nice to him.
“You’re looking well for someone in the twilight years of their third resurrection,” I said. “Do you still buy alchemist skin paste to keep Father Time at bay?”
“Twilight? The dead of night, more like. My bones ache when I sneeze, Beno. Ah
, well. The academy has been kind to me lately, so I won’t complain. I have been spending a lot of time in a dungeon in the east, where one of our newly-graduated cores is showing great promise. The weather there is glorious, the food divine, and the women are surprisingly fond of older gentlemen.”
“And yet you grace us with your presence. Did you come straight here, or have you been on a wasteland tour?”
“Where I go and don’t go is none of your concern, lad.”
I knew, of course, that Bolton had been to Hogsfeate to meet with Mimic Dullbright who he thought was the real Dullbright, and that he had to content himself with talking to Gulliver. I knew he was seeking Namantep, the dungeon core hidden on the second level of my dungeon.
“You have made a lot of changes since I was here last. I may take a tour when our business is done,” he said.
“I think you have made an error in phrasing, Bolton. You said I may take a tour, but you meant, may I?”
“Ah, yes. I forget how frustrating cores can be when they free themselves from academy oversight.” He stared at me for a while, before his face took on a softer look. “You have done well, Beno. Even without academy support, you have built a lovely place for yourself.”
It would have been nice if I was able to just shrug off his praise, but something about Bolton’s words got to me. It was pathetic. Here I was, a free core, a member of the Yondersun chiefs’ council, and the effective ruler of a whole bloody town, and yet I was sniffing the ground for morsels of praise from my old mentor.
Well, I just had to forget that and keep my wits about me. Focus on what he wanted, and how I could tell him to piss off without invoking the wrath of the academy.
He was sure to ask me about Namantep soon. Someone must have told him that she was here. If that was the case, it meant that I would have another problem – someone in my dungeon was telling tales.
Luckily, since hearing that Bolton had visited Hogsfeate, I’d already thought about what to say. If he asked me where Namantep was, I had concocted a sophisticated string of lies that relied on me using all my wits to befuddle him. He would say, “Where’s the core?” and I would answer, “I don’t know.”
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